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Custom categories

Use Library → Custom for groups that reflect your own workflow rather than information Motif inferred from filenames. A collection can represent a pack, an album idea, a client, a shortlist, a mood, a release, or any other purpose you want to preserve. In the app, Custom collections are labeled categories: you create them with New category and add tracks with Add to category. Custom collections live in Motif. They do not create Windows folders or duplicate the audio files they contain.

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Create a collection

  1. Open Library → Custom.
  2. Select Create your first category (shown when you have none yet) or the New category card.
  3. Enter a name.
  4. Press Enter to create it.
Choose a name that tells you why the group exists, such as Loops for Maya, June beat shortlist, or EP sequence.

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Add tracks

You can add local tracks in two ways.

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From a track menu

  1. Right-click a local track.
  2. Choose Add to category.
  3. Select the collection.
The picker indicates whether the track already belongs to each collection, so you can add or remove membership deliberately.

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Drag onto a collection

Drag a local track onto a Custom collection card. The card highlights when it can accept the drop. Both methods add the existing Library item to the collection. They do not move the source audio file.

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Open and play a collection

Select a collection card to see its tracks. Use the play control on the card when you want to start listening immediately. Inside a collection you can:
  • search and filter its tracks;
  • change their visible order;
  • play through the collection as a listening context;
  • right-click a track to edit it or remove it from this collection;
  • drag local files out to another application.

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Remove a track from one collection

While browsing the collection:
  1. Right-click the track.
  2. Choose Remove from collection name.
The track remains in the rest of the Library and in any other Custom collections. Its source file remains untouched.

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Rename a collection

  1. Open the collection card’s More menu.
  2. Select Rename.
  3. Enter the new name.
  4. Press Enter or click outside to save; press Escape to cancel.
Renaming changes the Motif label only.

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Add cover art

Use More → Change cover art to choose an image from your computer. When a custom cover is present, Remove cover art restores Motif’s default generated treatment. Cover art helps visual navigation and does not alter audio metadata or source files.

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Reorder collections

Drag collection cards to place the most relevant groups first. This creates a manual arrangement in Motif and does not affect the music inside each collection. Use sorting when you prefer an automatic name, date, or track-count order. Return to manual ordering to preserve your dragged arrangement.

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Delete a collection

  1. Open More on the collection card.
  2. Select Delete.
  3. Confirm the deletion.
Deleting a Custom collection removes the grouping from Motif. It does not delete any audio files or remove those tracks from the general Library.
Delete is appropriate when you no longer need the collection itself. If you only want to remove one track, open the collection and use Remove from collection name on that track instead.

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Optional Discord destination

A Custom collection can show a connected Discord channel beside its track count. When this relationship exists, eligible local tracks in the collection can offer Post to #channel from their context menu. Treat the destination as a sending action, not as collection storage: the Custom collection remains a local Motif organization, while posting sends the chosen file to Discord.

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Custom versus other Library views

Use Custom when the reason for grouping exists in your head or workflow rather than in the source filename.